Man sold a house he was renting in TRNC without the knowledge of the owner

A court in Girne has sentenced a Russian citizen to 6 years in prison after he was found guilty of selling a house that belongs to someone else with a fake document.

The court verdict against Yury Laptov, a Russian citizen was delivered on Monday, April, 24, 2022.

Announcing the judgement, court judge stated that the defendant prepared a false power of attorney, signed by a person working in the Girne Land Registry Office and a real estate agent, and used it to sell a house belonging to someone else which he was staying as a tenant.

The judge stated that the defendant had prepared a false Power of Attorney, had signed on behalf of the legal owner at the Kyrenia Land Registry Office and at an estate agent, and sold the house which was not his property for £59,000. The judge said that the accused committed the crimes in a planned and organised manner, and the fact that he had evaded justice for four years was considered to be an aggravating factor.

The judge stated that the defendant’s friend, who lives in Russia, rented the house to Laptov who had sent the rent for a certain period of time, but disappeared after a while. 

The house owner in Russia contacted a friend in TRNC when he had not heard from the accused, the judge said, and that he learned that Laptov had sold it to someone else. 

The judge stated that the person who learned that his house was sold had filed a complaint with the TRNC police. The judge stated that as a result of the investigation, it was determined that the defendant prepared a fake power of attorney on behalf of an estate agent, and submitted it to the Kyrenia Land Registry Office, and that he had overseen the sale of the property. 

The judge also stated that the defendant used a fake seal of approval while preparing the fake Power of Attorney. Pointing out that the crimes committed by the accused, making forged documents, circulating and obtaining money by fraudulent means, have become widespread, the judge, said that these crimes ranked fourth on the agenda of high criminal courts in 2017, third in 2018 and 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021.

Laptov was sentenced to six years in prison.